Question

When is the right time to transition/sleep train my baby?

Share

My 11 week old will only sleep in his swing. During the daytime, it's no big deal. However, the swing is in our living room, and it's not portible. Therefore my husband and I alternate nights on the couch because we don't feel comfortable with the baby by himself. I've heard a lot of babies end up only sleeping in swings. I'm curious to know how other parents have successfully transitioned their babies from swing to crib. Is it too early to try and transition into a crib? I hear that 11 weeks is still in the range that you "do anything to get your baby to sleep," so I would hate to prematurely try something that won't work. My husband & I look forward to sleeping in the bed together again, but we can be patient if it is in the best interest of our baby.

Mom Answers

He's not too young to learn to self-soothe. Our son was sleeping in his bed just fine from day four until about four weeks, when we noticed that he was waking and didn't seem to be comfortable. We bought a FisherPrice Rock and Play Sleeper, and it's amazing. He feels very secure in it and sleeps for longer amounts of time than he does in his bed. We only needed it for about two weeks (and we take it any time he sleeps elsewhere) before he was back in his bed with no problems. It's well worth the $55.

To clarify... baby slept well in his bassinett in our room the first several weeks. Then I moved him to his crib in the nursery, where he slept well for a few nights. Then he started waking up every 30 minutes. After several nights of constantly rocking him back to sleep, I finally put him in his swing out of sheer exhaustion. We've tried daytime naps in the crib, but he still wakes up after 30 minutes. I'm afraid that if we try nighttime sleep in the crib, he will wake after a short while. I'm assuming it has to do with the rocking or the feeling of security of the swing. I just don't know how to get him to sleep longer in the crib. Isn't he too young to self sooth?

I don't think it's too early to get the baby into their crib. The swing is not really meant for all night sleeping. You want them to be comfortable in their bed and feel good enough in it to go to sleep. You have a busy job being a Mom and you deserve to sleep in your bed with hubby... so slowly start putting him in his crib/bassinett sooner and sooner to thepoint where you see him falling alseep and you put in right in his bed. Does he sleep in your room or is his crib in a totally differnt room? I know Ive kept my kids in the the room with me (in their bed) for the first 4-5 months. When they outgrow their bassinet, they go into the big boys room & the crib

In genereal yes, you shold tend to all your baby's needs and if that's the only place he'll sleep go with it. But there is nothing wrong in letting him sleep at least a little bit at a time in the crib. That will slowly get him used to it. We started doing that with our baby at 4 weeks. So she slept a bit in the crib then a bit in the swing and a bit in the bassinette. But if he's screaming then swing it is :)

This Internet site provides information of a general nature and is designed for educational purposes only. If you have any concerns about your own health or the health of your child, you should always consult with a physician or other healthcare professional. Please review the Terms of Use before using this site. Your use of the site indicates your agreement to be bound by the Terms of Use.

This site is published by BabyCenter, L.L.C., which is responsible for its contents as further described and qualified in the Terms of Use.